One Direction Lining Up Collaborators for New Album

One Direction are doing more than well on their own, but that doesn't mean the U.K. 'X Factor' alums don't want to mix it up a little. The band is enlisting collaborators for their sophomore effort, and from the sounds of it, they only want the best -- though not necessarily the most globally well-known.

1D reportedly tapped a Scottish indie outfit, the View, for album No. 2. "I'm writing and recording all these tunes," View singer Kyle Falconer said. "The ones I put in for One Direction were the ones that people said were too wimpy for the View. There's a few of them — we write songs non-stop."

The band also recruited Florida rockers Boyce Avenue to work on the project. "We're meeting up to see what they think of some ideas we've got for them," Boyce Avenue member Daniel Manzano told Perez Hilton (via MTV). "We've got a studio right by the beach, so it's a cool place for bands to come and write with us."

As we previously reported, acoustic superstar Ed Sheeran penned two tracks for the upcoming record -- something he admits is rare for him. “I don’t really do that a whole lot, I think it’s just because I’m friends with them.” Justin Bieber also offered to team up, saying, "If they want me on their album, they just have to ask. They're talented."

Another artist who would kill to work with One Direction? Singer Mika, whom you may remember from his hits 'Grace Kelly' and 'We Are Golden.' Mika told Entertainment Wise (via SugarScape), "As a songwriter I think it would be really fun to write something for a boyband because you'd really be able to go all out. I really want to write the perfect boyband pop song, I'd love to write a song with One Direction!" Based on Mika's hooks and piano-driven songs, we think it'd be an amazing project and an awesome idea.